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4960. Wombat - 8/28/2013 11:20:13 PM Also the current Turkish government is nibbling away at the Ataturk tradition of a secular society. 4961. webfeet - 8/28/2013 11:21:27 PM More pressing on my mind, Jen, was how you survived as a blonde in Italy and Turkey, but Id love to hear about Mephistos (are we talking about the shoes? Probably not!) 4962. Wombat - 8/28/2013 11:22:20 PM Kind of what some Christians in the US would like to do. 4963. webfeet - 8/28/2013 11:26:51 PM Bhelpuri, No thanks. Im not into torture. But Im sure if I had been as zealous as you, I would have hit the champagne bar at the top. 4964. Trillium - 8/30/2013 7:44:13 AM Iiibbb, yes it's a funny Finnish story. Thanks for the details! 4965. Jenerator - 8/30/2013 8:12:36 PM Wombat,
You're right. We were worried a little bit because of the protests that were happening just before got there. We didn't know if Ramadan would heighten tensions, or what. We booked on Turkish Air and then this piece of news came out That Turkish Air does not allow its flight attendants to wear red lipstick, nail polish or have platinum blonde hair.
From the story: Atilay Aycin, president of Hava-Is, told Reuters. ”No one can deny that Turkey has become a more conservative, religious country.”
4966. judithathome - 8/30/2013 8:29:42 PM But pink polish and lipstick and ash blonde was okay? Sorry, this is hysterical....I guess all Scandinavians are banned from flying on Turkish Air.
Maybe it's not as funny to you, Jen, but this sort of policy reeks of all sorts of ridiculous. Seriously.
Crazy world we live in...what next? All blondes have to wear little badges of shame on their clothing? 4967. Jenerator - 8/30/2013 8:34:58 PM Webbie,
I packed what I thought would be appropriately stylish clothes, and I packed what I thought would get me through miles and miles of cobblestone streets and hills. I was wrong.
Plus, I made the mistake of reading Rick Steeve's website about what Italians wear/don't wear during the summer. As a result, I only brought one pair of shorts!
Well, after about 25 miles of standing and walking, my feet were really hurting. I didn't dare bring tennis shoes, because that was forbidden too! I changed my shoes, stetched, wore band aids, you name it. The bottom line was, I HAD to get a different pair of shoes. The only problem was, Italy doesn't have any size 10/10.5 (42 European) women's shoes. Honestly, I went into every shoe store I could find in Rome - over 22 different places. As the search continued, and my feet pounding, I got more deseperate. I even toyed with the idea of buying men's tennis shoes! I didn't care how much they cost, but I couldn't find any size 42 shoes.
The quest continued into Florence. I continued to walk throughout the city and throughout Tuscany, with no success. Louis Vuitton, Gucci and Chanel do not carry size 42 in Florence. I needed something comfortable, but not hideous. The last place I tried was a shoe store I was afraid of: Mephisto.
I hate Birkenstocks. I hate shoes that look like Birkenstocks. Mephistos look like Birkenstocks.
Thankfully Italian women wear this style, but they do it better. They're shorter, petite, tan and naturally chic. They can wear ugly, behemoth sandals and look fashionable.
So it really came down to pride vs. comfort. Comfort won. I spent $150 on the ugliest shoes I have ever owned, but they got me through the rest of the trip, and I even felt a little like I was part of the group that knew why Italians wear these shoes.
Oh, and they were shorts, too!
4968. Jenerator - 8/30/2013 8:42:37 PM Btw - THESE are the accurate sandal
 4969. Jenerator - 8/30/2013 9:57:12 PM Judith,
The belief is that flight attendants are appearing 'too Westernized'.
I tell you, the most awkward I felt was in the airport in Istanbul while going through security.
I saw more women wearing the full black veil (covering one eye) and in black gloves than anywhere else I've ever been.
I saw what I believe to be Afghan tribal leaders (again, based on their style of dress) and lots of sheikhs.
In particular, there was a gentleman in a white headress, with white robes (and a tail on his headdress). His wife was fully veiled and wearing sunglasses. Absolutely no skin showing. Their son (?) was behind them. While the dad grimaced his way through the crowd, his wife scurried alongside, but their son was in pure awe. I saw him check out everything: the surroundings, the people, and even a censored Victoria's Secret billboard.
I asy it was awkward because in any given line I was standing on, if a devout Muslim was to be behind me, they wouldn't get close at all, and there were no cordial smiles.
That said, I still enjoyed what little I saw in Turkey and will be back in March. 4970. arkymalarky - 8/30/2013 11:04:41 PM Shitfire, Jen!! Seriously, those shoes are adorable! I will never get you fashionistas. SAS cost the same, and THAT'S an ugly comfortable shoe. 4971. webfeet - 8/31/2013 9:45:54 PM It's a whole other ball of wax for us tall chicks, Jen. But height has its advantageous and, I agree with Arky--those aren't so bad! There is a Mephisto here in Aix, too. It's like the senior version of Birkenstocks, but I bought them once and was so relieved.Sometimes you have to sacrifice vanity for comfort. The only reason why I wear shorts is so I won't eat pastries or baguette. I own one pair and I am wearing them now. (shorts will coup lappetite faster than you can say Miss Piggie) Who Could imagine that bread, the staff of life, could make you so fat? I should be able to eat it with abandon in this. country, but I can't!
Tell Rick Steve's that you will happily amend his Go Italy with a footnote (get it?) on shoes. Oh Im so pleased with lyself for that pun. Ive bern speaking French and don't know how to pun or be amusing in thus language. Feels ah so gooood to be ah speeking the english.
Ah, Italia!
4972. webfeet - 8/31/2013 9:50:12 PM BM ( belle mere) and I just had limincello in front of the tele...omg what a part-ay.
So xhat if I wake up to'orrow fat? Does anyone else do that, say to themselves, Tomorrow I am going to wake up fat? And if so, what is your petit peche gourmande? ( fattening little sin) 4973. Jenerator - 9/3/2013 6:48:47 PM It was just weird to be in what I thought to be the shoe capital of the world and not be able to buy any.
Ferragamo? No size 42. Prada? No size 42. Dollar store? No size 42.
Coming home with a functional piece of leather isn't as fun as splurging on some form of couture. I can't say to my friends, "Check out these fine Italian leather shoes!"
Instead, I serve as the warning.
Despite my aching feet, I had a blast. So many highlights and so many once in a lifetime opportunities.
The biggest splurge was dining here
http://www.osteriafrancescana.it/ 4974. thoughtful - 9/5/2013 2:04:36 AM I went outside tonight to chase the deer away from the apple trees, looked up and saw this:
But it's nothing compared to the terrific photos my cousin is taking over in Wales...I absolutely must go there. 4975. arkymalarky - 9/5/2013 10:19:28 PM Gorgeous! 4976. thoughtful - 9/6/2013 5:01:26 PM Anyone else see an alien in the cloud? Shoulders coming out of the tree line, very thin neck, face to the left with a very enlarged skull and high cheek bone??
Or do I need counseling?
Of course, those are not mutually exclusive.
;) 4977. judithathome - 9/6/2013 11:21:30 PM Looks more like a bird with a very fancy coxcomb on top of its head.... 4978. iiibbb - 9/7/2013 4:05:01 PM So... our semi-geriatric cat has never had an "accident". When we moved to this house with upstairs carpet I insisted that she not spend time up there. My wife objected because she felt the cat was lonely downstairs all the time. However, the presence of 2 baby gates to keep our kids off the stairs. Needless to say over the year she'd gotten less and less diligent about closing the gates and since she goes to bed after me the cat started to enjoy the upstairs domain.
Well the cat got stuck upstairs behind 2 baby gates for some amount of time and finally had to do her business in the nursery.
For those who don't know cat odors... it's building thing. You don't really smell it until it dries some. So it'd been there a while before I noticed and it started to get bad.
Anyhow... if you read on the internet, the smell is very difficult to get out. I figured since this was probably one or two accidents total, and not a chronic problem I might have a chance before I did what most nay-sayers say... and that is that you have to rip up the carpet and redo the floors.
Rental house... no thanks. 4979. iiibbb - 9/7/2013 4:33:22 PM So... it's been 2 1/2 weeks without the smell and I am going to report that I am cautiously optimistic that I removed the smell (or more precisely, replaced).
Step 1: Black light flashlight. In a dark room, use this to locate the places on the carpet that your precious did her thing. It is quite obvious.
Step 2: Use some masking tape to create reference points to bracket the stains.
Step 3: For a couple of weeks use Natures Own or similar enzymatic cleaner to saturate the stain. I used the Natures Own Orange Oxy, and FON feline odor neuturalizer. This is a tough step because the smell is going to get a lot worse before it gets better during this stage of the process.
Step 4: Rent a "Rug Doctor" and their cleaning fluid. Buy a gallon of white vinegar and some dawn dishwashing liquid.
Step 5: Make a room temperature mixture of a quart of vinegar with a quart of water and a couple of teaspoons of dishwashing liquid.
Step 6: Saturate the areas of concern with this solution using a sports bottle or similar to inject it deep into the carpet. Let this sit for 30 minutes or so.
Step 7: Mix quart of vinegar and quart of hot water with 1 tsp of dishwashing liquid. Use this solution in the Rug Doctor and run it over the areas of concern and vicinity.
Repeat 2 more times. Then wait again.
Step 8: Run the Rug Doctor as directed with their cleaning fluid. Might as well do the whole carpet. Run the Rug Doctor over areas of concern until the are no longer saturated, but instead slightly damp like the rest of the carpet.
It's been 2 weeks. The awful cat urine smell has been replaced with a faint vinegar smell that is hard to put your finger on... it is a clean smell... and certainly a vast improvement.
It took 2 1/2 weeks to do this whole process, but after 2 1/2 weeks since I did it, I am cautiously optimistic that we won't be paying our landlord for new carpet.
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